Tag: Gavin Sawchuck

Midseason positional review: How have the Oklahoma Sooners looked at the midway point?

How have each position group done so far for the Oklahoma Sooners at the midway point?

The Oklahoma Sooners have hit the midway point of the 2023 college football season. The Sooners are undefeated at 6-0 in year two under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. Venables is now 13-7

Offensively they’ve been pretty good. They rank No. 6 in total offense, No. 9 in 3rd down offense, No. 2 in 1st down offense, and No. 4 in scoring offense.

The defense has also been pretty good and shown vast improvement. They rank No. 50 in total defense, No. 12 in 3rd down defense, No. 31 in rush defense, and No. 2 in turnovers forced.

There is still much improvement that needs to be made for both units, but so far, they’ve made significant strides.

Prior to the season, I broke down each position group, so let’s go through and see how they are doing at this point and give them a midseason grade.

Tawee Walker solidifying role in Oklahoma Sooners running back room

Tawee Walker continues to prove to be the most consistent running back for Oklahoma.

Before the season, all of the talk about who would lead Sooners in rushing focused on [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Gavin Sawchuck[/autotag]. The coaches also talked about the role [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] could have.

Barnes and Sawchuck haven’t looked healthy all year, and Major has been pretty good. But the forgotten man in that group might be having the best season of them all: [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag].

Walker leads the Sooners this year with 239 yards rushing. He has the second-most rushing touchdowns with four, and has averaged 4.5 yards per carry. It’s not just his rushing ability. Walker has been a great pass-blocker. There were several times on Saturday, including the final play, when Walker picked up a crucial block springing a big play for the Sooners.

He also added two rushing touchdowns in the game. Walker spoke to reporters after the game about his performance.

“I was very confident,” Walker said. “Of course, this is a game that’s going to go to the end. For years it’s been going like that. So, I was confident in my team, and the second touchdown coming out of the half kicked started the second half. Started out strong. It just felt good.”

Walker isn’t the fastest running back, and he might not even be the best running back on the team. But, right now, he’s the most consistent running back and playing better than anyone on the depth chart. He’s been the hardest to bring down, and he’s has a little [autotag]Samaje Perine[/autotag] in him.

Coming out of the bye week, we’ll see what happens at running back but Walker has absolutely solidified himself in the rotation.

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Sooners RB Marcus Major feeling ‘very confident’ in how he’s playing so far

The injury bug has plagued the career of Marcus Major but now he’s back and feeling “very confident” in how he’s playing.

The Oklahoma Sooners running back room is one that has brought a ton of questions. [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Gavin Sawchuck[/autotag] were the ones in the offseason everyone thought would be the two main guys but so far it’s been, [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] and [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag].

Major made his first start of the season against SMU, and capped off his night with a game-sealing touchdown catch on third down. In 2023, Major has run for 70 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.

Major told reporters having the various talents at running back creates a good balance for the team.

“There’s a lot of talent in the group,” Major said. “It’s all good for everybody to split touches every now and then. It’s great competition in the group, but it’s good for us.”

While everyone is getting reps, Major said he feels “very confident” in how he’s playing.

“I can never get satisfied with where I’m at,” Major said. “As long as I keep getting better each day and just take it day by day.”

Major is someone who has shown promise throughout his career since he arrived in 2019, but the injury bug has plagued his career. This season, he’s showing a good blend of power and speed while being a key contributor for DeMarco Murray and the Oklahoma Sooners.

As the season goes on, it’s not crazy to think all four will be valuable for the team. Ultimately leading to a hard group to defend against.

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Jovantae Barnes ready to seize his opportunity

The Sooners running back room has been led by Marcus Major and Tawee Walker but Jovantae Barnes is ready to seize his opportunity.

Through two games, we haven’t seen much of [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] or [autotag]Gavin Sawchuck[/autotag] on the field for the Oklahoma Sooners. Those two were perceived to be the guys at the running back position before the season started.

Right now the running back room has been led by [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] and [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag]. Many have been left wondering why we haven’t seen the two young guns that much this season.

Barnes told reporters they have a deep group at running back.

“Marcus and Tawee have been doing a great job,” Barnes said. “They’ve been doing a great job since spring, and they’re showing you right now. Everything they’ve been doing since spring is showing, and you guys are just now seeing it. I already have seen it.”

Despite the limited work in the first two games of the season, Jovantae Barnes is ready to take advantage of whatever opportunity presents itsefl.

“I’m just waiting on my opportunity, my name to be called,” Barnes said. “And as soon as my name is called, I just do my job and make sure I take care of what I’ve got to do.”

Those opportunities should start to grow this weekend, as offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said it’s time to get Barnes and Sawchuck going. Brent Venables echoed that statement on his coach’s show but also alluded to some off-season injuries for both guys as to why they might not be getting as much of a load so far.

While Major and Walker have been good stories and have been holding it down, the Sooners need Barnes and Sawchuck to help take this team to another level.

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‘We’ve got a lot more talent’: DeMarco Murray on this year’s running back room

Eric Gray had a great year last season but running back’s coach Demarco Murray thinks this room is even better than it was a year ago.

One of the strongest position groups at the [autotag]University of Oklahoma[/autotag] is the running back room. It’s a young group but one filled with talent.

[autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] played quite a bit last season. [autotag]Gavin Sawchuck[/autotag] played really well in the Cheez-It Bowl, which has a great many people excited about what he could do in an expanded role.

Freshman [autotag]Kalib Hicks[/autotag] had one of the best offseason of any freshman [autotag]DeMarco Murray [/autotag]has seen. [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] is consistently being mentioned as the hardest person to tackle for the defense. [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag] was brought up as the best pass-catching back when Murray’s discussed his running back group.

This room has many different players that complement each other well. That should also help take a lot of the pressure off an unproven receiving room. Jeff Lebby wants to run the football. Having a deep stable of backs will give the offensive coordinator even more incentive to pound the rock.

While it will be a running back by committee, Murray said the Sooners hope to have one guy take over and be that “bell cow” back.

“You want to have a guy you can count on day in and day out just like I did with Eric,” Murray said at OU football media day. “Then obviously have some guys to spell him. I think at this point in our room, we’ve got a lot more talent than we did a year ago just overall.”

If you’ve followed Jeff Lebby’s career, you know how much he wants to run the football. For a team that finished 10th nationally in rushing a year ago, to know this room is deeper and more talented should be a scary sight for other teams.

It also should help them finish games better than they did in 2022. Something that should bring a smile to Sooner fans’ faces.

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DeMarco Murray looking for a running back Sooners ‘can rely on every single day’

The Oklahoma Sooners have a talented group of runners, but who will emerge to be Oklahoma’s lead back in 2023?

The Oklahoma Sooners are in a familiar position at running back. They’re looking to find the guy that will replace last season’s leading rusher.

Two years ago, they were working to replace [autotag]Rhamondre Stevenson[/autotag]. Last spring, they were again looking for their lead running back after the departure of [autotag]Kennedy Brooks[/autotag].

They found answers each offseason. So there should be no concern. However, the question remains, who will be Oklahoma’s lead running back in 2023?

“I’m looking for a starter. That’s why we’re able to have the depth that we have here,” [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag] said after Tuesday’s practice.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a depth chart as deep as it has been during Murray’s time in Norman. Though young, it’s four deep with blue-chip running backs [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag], [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag], [autotag]Gavin Sawchuck[/autotag], and [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag]. Three-star runner [autotag]Kalib Hicks[/autotag] was probably one of the more underrated additions of the 2023 signing class after an incredible career at Denton Ryan.

The Sooners have talented running backs to work with. Barnes and Sawchuk entered the spring as the backs at the front of the line. The two had memorable Cheez-It Bowl performances, each rushing for over the 100-yard mark in the three-point loss to Florida State.

“Just speaking on those two guys (Barnes and Sawchuk), they’ve always had a terrific mindset,” Murray said about his returning running backs. “They’ve always had a great working habit. We’re fortunate to have them here. But we have to continue to learn and continue to grow and get stronger and get faster in all areas. I’m pleased with where they are now.”

With Major, Barnes, and Sawchuk, the Sooners have guys with some significant experience. It’s not in the same vein as Kennedy Brooks, who entered the 2021 season already with a pair of 1,000-yard seasons under his belt. At the same time, they have the experience they can build upon as Oklahoma looks for their next lead running back.

But what is Murray looking for at the running back position?

“Just a guy that you know can rely on every single day. A guy like Eric Gray, who was kind of our comfort blanket,” Murray shared on Tuesday. “No matter what happened out there, no matter what the situation was, two-minute, short-yardage, situation football, he was going to be there. He was going to get it done.”

The Sooners will deploy multiple running backs in Jeff Lebby’s up-tempo offense. Still, Oklahoma needs to find the guy they can role out there in every situation.

Gone are Eric Gray’s 246 touches. He’s going to make an NFL team happy as an incredible value selection in the middle rounds of the draft. So who will step up to replace that workload?

Barnes looks like the favorite to do so, but don’t count out the rest of the running back room as well. They’re a talented bunch that will be vying for snaps this spring and into fall camp.

“We’ve got a great group of backs who are competing for playing time and competing for that top spot. It’s been great to see and sit back and watch. They’ve got the right mindset, an extremely talented room but a close room. So for us, man, we’re as close as hell, but at the end of the day, we also compete when we step out on the field.”

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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.